18th Birthday Party......Any ideas ?

bloodnok

Hi,
Daughters 18th coming up, so looking for any suggestions.
Tried this on the "I Wanna" forum but not much response, so I was wondering if you could help !
Venue has been booked, so we need to decorate it out on a reasonable budget.
Looking for good deals on balloons, some customised.
Banners etc.
Can you hire helium cylinders without actually buying the balloons from the same place.
Any ideas from anyone who has arranged an 18th would be very gratefully received.
Thanks

charliegirl_3

Try "Birthdays", the last time I was in there they had a special offer of £10 off each cylinder, some came with balloons and some without, you could work out which suited you best. Remember you will need ribbon and possibly balloon weights as well. Good luck x

lizzie12_2

When it was hubbies "special birthday" we had a theme of pale blue and silver helium balloons from asda. Had them blown up at asda too, cant remember how much they cost but was cheaper than buying the kit ourselves.
To hold the balloons we bought little boxes and filled them with gravel , then attached the balloons to the box for each table.
We also got the banners from Asda,and the small bags of confetti stuff that had his age on.
Being a man, he didnt want much "over the top" stuff so doing the table was enough. The roon looked really nice when we had finished.
Hope this helps. Allways try asda now to compare prices to other shops.
Have a great time.

Softstuff

Hi,
was trying not to reply, sitting on my hands, but I couldn't stop myself, Asda and Birthdays with partyware/balloons really are my bugbear. I run a small independant party shop and am a certified balloon artist, and like many others am pretty aghast at the rip off that Asda and Birthdays pull as regards partyware. They sell substandard balloons and kits at inflated prices which people then try and do themselves and usually end up with a very poor result.

Not promoting myself here, just trying to point out the differences:
Asda at their cheapest sold a helium tank with 30 balloons for under 20 quid... but the balloons are only cheapo 9" balloons, when 11" are what are used for decorating since they float long enough for the whole event. So the tank would actually only blow up about 18 of these if you got every one right first time (every first timer bursts one or fails to tie one), you'd have to buy some 11" yourself so add on a further 3 quid or so... then ribbon, and weights...

In total the DIY option would cost about 30 quid and a heap of time for 6 bunches of 3 balloons if you were lucky.

6 bunches of 3 balloons, perfectly sized and inflated from me cost 15 quid... and they look perfect and consistent every single time.

Whilst normally with most other things I'd say DIY is cheaper, with balloons it often isn't since balloon professionals benefit from economies of scale, and also from the fact that if they inflate your balloons you're not paying for a mini helium tank which can't be reused or recycled.

Try getting a quote from a local balloon store, even if they only come in at a matching price to the DIY option, you're guaranteed a perfect result and a lot less hassle.

mollyann_2

18 year olds don't want baloons and banners, save your money! They want loud music, their mates and drink! That's it, the key to an 18 year olds birthday! Sorry to be blunt, but thats how it is...

royalsteve

mollyann wrote:

18 year olds don't want baloons and banners, save your money! They want loud music, their mates and drink! That's it, the key to an 18 year olds birthday! Sorry to be blunt, but thats how it is...

yeh agreed and im more than twice that age!

drink, strippers, friends, partying - er an no parents/family

lizzie12_2

Hi Softstuff,

Didnt mean to offend anyone with my reply, was just saying how we had a budget and asda came within that budget. I agree the balloons at other places were fantastic with the display they could offer, but was not going into debt for a party.
xx

Softstuff

lizzie12 wrote:

Hi Softstuff,

Didnt mean to offend anyone with my reply, was just saying how we had a budget and asda came within that budget. I agree the balloons at other places were fantastic with the display they could offer, but was not going into debt for a party.
xx

Aw I didn't mean to sound like you had offended... and never suggested for a minute that you should overdo it. But what I'm trying to say, which most people don't even believe, is that a local balloon store, with it all done for you can actually come out cheaper than asda. It's just most people automatically assume DIY or a supermarket is the cheaper option, and in this instance they're being ripped off.